You are here

BAFTA Appoints Jane Lush As Chair

6 June 2016
Jane Lush

Former BBC Controller succeeds Anne Morrison, who continues as Deputy Chair

Appointment follows publication of BAFTA’s Annual Report & Accounts

London, 7 June: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced Jane Lush as its new Chair at last night’s AGM, succeeding Anne Morrison. Jane has been Deputy Chair for the past year and her tenure as Chair will run for the next two years. Anne will be Deputy Chair for one year.

Jane Lush said: “It’s a huge honour to become Chair of BAFTA, succeeding Anne Morrison who has taken the Academy from strength to strength.  It’s exciting to build on all of those achievements, ensuring BAFTA stays ahead of the curve by continually enhancing our gold standard award ceremonies and attracting the brightest and the best to our membership, while expanding diversity across all our activity. I would also hope to extend our reach to younger up-and-coming talent through our excellent year-round programme of events. And I’m particularly looking forward to working with BAFTA’s brilliant staff.”

Jane has been closely involved with BAFTA for 10 years and joined the Board of Trustees as Deputy Chair of the Television Committee in 2010.

Jane was a factual programme-maker at the BBC, eventually becoming Controller of Daytime and transforming it into the market leader with many breakthrough shows such as Weakest Link and the drama series Doctors. As the BBC’s Controller of Entertainment and Comedy, she was responsible for a budget of £200m, commissioning a range of multi-BAFTA-winning series including Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice, The Catherine Tate Show, Dragons’ Den and Have I Got News for You. She was part of the BBC Television Board, shaping its channel strategy, managing talent and revitalising programming. Since leaving the BBC, she has been working in the independent sector and is currently running Kalooki Pictures and co-producing with Hat Trick Productions. 

Jane was the founding Chair of the BBC’s Performing Arts Fund charity, which has awarded around £5m to young aspiring musicians through scholarships, mentoring projects and giving musical instruments to hundreds of children, one of whom was the international pop star Adele.

Alongside its awards recognising excellence in film, television and games, BAFTA offers a wide range of initiatives that help ensure talented people get the recognition and support to achieve their potential, regardless of their background. BAFTA Guru, the online learning site, is one way people can hear directly from the experts and learn more about a particular craft or career, or just to get inspiration. People can attend any one of hundreds of BAFTA events across the UK, USA and Asia, apply for a BAFTA scholarship or be part of a mentoring scheme or talent development initiative.

BAFTA’s recently published Annual Report & Accounts looks back at the charity’s activities and achievements in 2015. The document reports on activity from its annual awards ceremonies to its learning events programme and new talent initiatives and is supported by a short video of highlights from the last 12 months. Visit www.bafta.org/about/annual-reviews to find out more.

For further information, please contact:

Eleanor Pickering at BAFTA
Press Officer
T +44 (0) 20 7292 5863
E [email protected]

Nick Williams at BAFTA
Communications Manager
T +44 (0) 20 7292 5847
E [email protected]

Notes to Editors

BAFTA’s  Annual Report & Accounts – In Numbers

6.3 million = The peak number of viewers who watched the Television Awards on BBC One. This was up on 2014’s 5.81m audience.

1,630 = The number of tickets sold to career starters in film and television for our Generation Next and Filmmakers Forum events

448 = The number of attendees at our Film and Television Craft Sessions, held on the day before the relevant Awards ceremonies. Crafts covered included cinematography, VFX, make-up and hair, writing and directing.

4.2 million = The total number of viewers who tuned in to watch our 2015 terrestrial broadcast co-productions, A Life on Screen, Stephen Fry (BBC Two) and BAFTA Celebrates Downton Abbey (ITV 1)

92,561 = The number of Twitter followers we gained across @BAFTA, @BAFTAGames and @BAFTAGuru in 2015. We also added 47,851 Facebook followers in the year and almost doubled our YouTube subscribers from 2014 to 39,004.

5.2 million = The number of views BAFTA content received across our various online platforms – a leap of more than 2.4 million on 2014’s figure.

230 = The percentage increase in BAFTA Crew membership in 2015. The growth was, in part, due to the inclusion of games industry members for the first time, as well as film and television members from London.

121 = The percentage increase in applications for our Breakthrough Brits initiative on 2014’s number 

About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, television and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.